


Easier To Run

by HylianDeity, The_Tevinter_Biscuit (orphan_account)



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Character Death, Childhood Friends, Disturbing Themes, Drama, Eventual Romance, F/M, Frottage, M/M, USUK - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-25
Updated: 2014-10-04
Packaged: 2018-02-14 17:16:49
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,823
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2200254
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HylianDeity/pseuds/HylianDeity, https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/The_Tevinter_Biscuit
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Life has always been a rollercoaster but never would childhood friends, Arthur and Alfred, have ever thought that their life could be so quickly flipped upside down by an unusual outbreak surrounded by rumours. [Zombie AU]</p><p>DISCONTINUED</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Television

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This multi-chapter fic is written with my friend HylianDeity, I hope you enjoy this bumpy ride. More information at the bottom.

“Artie!” Alfred Jones called to the kitchen from the sofa, legs resting on top of the wooden coffee table. “Get me a soda while you’re there! It’s gonna start any minute now,”

“Okay!” Arthur shouted back, reaching into the fridge and grabbing a single can of coca cola before heading into the living room.

“I don’t see why you’re panicking,” he said with a sigh but then smiled, passing Alfred the cold drink and sitting beside him on the sofa “It’s not on for another 5 minutes yet.” 

Alfred turned to the television screen directly in front of him after he took hold of the soda. Flicking it open, he took a sip and then smiled back at his friend and housemate. 

“It’s like, the final episode of this season! I can’t miss it,” he protested, looking around for a place to put his can before laying his eyes on the coffee table he was resting on and cautiously placing the drink down away from his feet. He noticed Arthur glare at him from the corner of his eye. 

There wasn’t any way that was going to end well.

“You will spill it if you leave it down there,” Arthur frowned and bent down to pick up the can; if it’s sticky contents were split across the carpet he was certain he would be the one stuck with the job of cleaning it up. Then leaning forwards, he not so softly pushed Alfred’s feet off of the coffee table.

“Just use the table like any other normal human being.” Arthur rebuked and placed the drink onto the wooden surface. 

“But I like putting my feet on there,” he whined. “I would’ve bought a recliner instead but no you said we couldn’t afford it. My mom would’ve totally paid for it!”

Arthur sent Alfred a skeptical look; unsure of how willing Mrs Jones would be to do such a thing. “We can’t just let your mum pay for everything,” He stated “and I’m sure if we did get one of those chairs it would end up broken within a week anyway.”

“Whatever,” he huffed. His attention was suddenly caught by the flashing on the television screen. “Oh come on, it was just about to start,” 

A sudden news broadcast appeared on the screen. 

“What’s this all about?” Alfred questioned, squinting and exchanging glances between Arthur and the television.

“What...” Arthur furrowed his brows and leaned forwards in his seat. Staring at the strange broadcast on the screen which had interrupted the usual schedule of the television.

“Change the channel,” he suggested, glancing over to Alfred in return. Alfred nodded, reaching for the remote aimlessly and changing the channel. To his surprise, no matter how many times he pressed the button, the same thing was on every station. He furrowed his eyebrows.

“That’s weird,” Alfred complained, putting the remote back down. “I can’t believe I’m missing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for this,”

Arthur opened his mouth to reply, but stopped when suddenly the image displayed on the television changed.

The screen froze for a moment before something appeared. In large white letters it read “EMERGENCY BROADCAST SYSTEM MESSAGE” and displayed a video feed of a street, large crowds of people seemed to be swarming in all directions and the wide roads were packed with cars; none of which where moving whilst few attempted to recklessly drive across the sidewalks with little success.

The video continued, panning across the streets as if it were being filmed in some sort of aircraft before a voice broke out against the crackling audio of the video. It sounded as if it were a prerecorded message.

An uncomfortable stirring churned in Alfred’s stomach.

“You don’t think this has something to do with those science experiments on dead cells do you? Everyone has been talking about it at med school,” he said with concern, absent-mindedly now drumming his fingers on his lap and looking at Arthur. Being a doctor had been a dream of his since he was little.

“I’m sure it’s nothing,” Arthur responded, although Alfred only saw it as lying through his teeth. He would never outright express genuine worry in the matter, it’d only drive Alfred up the walls if he did - he knew how he could overreact to these sort of scares. Alfred nodded.

“It is advised that everyone remains indoors until further notice,” the voiceover announced. 

“If you are receiving this broadcast, several cases of a yet to be named epidemic have been identified in your area. Please remain calm and attempting to leave your homes or visit family members is not advised, keep your televisions on and your doors closed. If you are in a place of work stay in the premises, telephone lines will continue to operate and contact can be reached through that function.” The monotone voice continued.

“This can’t be real,” Arthur announced, this entire situation had to be some sort of elaborate lie. “You should try contacting your parents and see if they’re having this problem as well,”

Alfred didn’t say anything, he just fumbled through his jean pocket searching for his cellphone. He pulled it out and quickly dialed his parents.  
If this was a hoax, the person pulling it was some sick bastard. Arthur watched him as he waited for his parents to pick up.

“Hi mom,” Alfred suddenly spoke up with a smile on his face. 

The conversation lasted for a good 5 minutes before he hung up, pushing his phone back in his pocket.

“It’s the same over there. My parents are okay though, looks like it’s either a big prank or it’s for real,” he explained to Arthur, leaning back against the sofa with a long exhale through his nose. “This sucks,”

Arthur nodded in agreement. Feeling strangely anxious about the whole situation but not wanting to mention it, the look on Alfred's face showed that he was already worried enough for the both of them and adding more tension to the air would do little to help.

“There isn’t much we can do,” he sighed and looked over to Alfred. “We’ll just have to wait here and see what else happens.”

“All I wanted to do was watch Ninja Turtles,” Alfred grumbled, folding his arms childishly. He was never too good at dealing with these situations - always impatient.

So the next couple hours were tiresome, the buzz of the television still hung in the air and Alfred had begun pacing up and down the length of the living room. 

“Alfred calm down and sit back down would you,” Arthur said sternly, beginning to get frustrated with the other man’s restlessness. 

“I can’t Artie! It’s been hours and there’s been nothing!” Alfred retorted. Quickly, he reached for his coat hanging on the back of the sofa. “I have to go see my parents,”

Alfred’s childish behaviour was starting to grate on Arthur’s nerves, he sighed and stood up; walking over to where Alfred was standing. The current situation was pushing both of their patience to its limits but there was no reason to act recklessly. “You are not leaving Alfred, we don’t know what it’s like out there and I’m not having you getting sick just because you started acting like an idiot going charging outside without a second thought.”

He lightly grasped the hand that Alfred held the coat in. “I can’t let you leave,” Arthur attempted to send Alfred an understanding look “But... why not call your parents again, speaking to them again might ease your mind.”

As much as Alfred wanted to protest, yell and shout at his friend he couldn’t bring himself to do it. He frowned and put his coat back down.

“Fine,” he almost snapped followed by a sigh as he reached for his phone and waited for his parents to pick up. When his expression changed from angry to worried, Arthur couldn’t help but be a little concerned himself. Slowly, he pulled the phone away from his ear. “They’re uh...they’re not picking up,”

“Keep trying maybe they will pick up.” Arthur pressed, looking over his friend’s shoulder to see the error message the phone kept displaying with every phone call. However after attempting to contact multiple times with the same result, it was becoming obvious that something was wrong.

“It’s still too dangerous to leave, we can’t risk going out there.” He said once more, this time with slight hesitation in his voice.

Alfred frowned as he stared at his phone, he couldn’t help but wonder why they wouldn’t pick up. It was rare for them to do that. Judging by Arthur’s face, he seemed shocked as well. 

“Pack your things,” he stated bluntly.

“Are you really going through with this?”

“My parents house isn’t far Artie. Pack and we’ll stay a couple days until this whole thing blows over. We got your prescription yesterday so you should be fine right?”

“You’re not going to shut up about it until I agree are you?” Arthur groaned before taking a deep breath, thinking over it for a second then reluctantly nodding. “I’ll agree with you for now, but only under the condition that once we get there you don’t get any wild ideas and try to leave your parents house until it’s safe.”

Alfred nodded, walking upstairs towards the bedroom to pack with Arthur on his tail.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So you may remember this fic posted before but as it is being completely re-written and made better, I'm posting it anew. I hope you like this version even better than the last! Thanks.


	2. Gunfire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arthur and Alfred take a trip to Alfred's parents house to find the unexpected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is the beginning of all things gruesome! Enjoy.

Arthur suddenly felt much less anxious as the car came to a stop and the engines died down, the anticipation of their journey was starting to wear off as the familiar building was presented in front of them, towering over the two. Alfred’s parents were a fairly wealthy middle class family and their house was reflected in that; a single family detached home with a large, well-kept garden that wasn’t too shabby.

After taking the short drive from their apartment the two friends had quickly arrived at their destination without much trouble; the streets has been completely empty without sight of a single living creature for the entire drive, leaving an eerie feeling across the small town as they drove the familiar route.

“Are you ready?” he asked, grabbing his luggage from the back speak as he spoke.

“Not really,” Alfred replied, a smile twitching at his lips as he also took hold of his things. “But as ready as I’ll ever be.”

They moved towards the front door and he took a deep breath before knocking on the door. When there was no answer, he furrowed his eyebrows. He turned to look at Arthur.

“Weird stuff doesn’t stop happening does it?” he continued, reaching for the door handle to see if it was open. To his surprise, the door swung open with a slightly familiar squeak.

As the door continued to open it revealed a small, rather narrow hallway with a single pendant light hanging from the ceiling; it was glowing against the darkness of the house and illuminating the area. There was something a little creepy about the way it swung. “Perhaps they didn’t notice the door had been left open open,” Arthur murmured, stepping forwards into the building and waiting for Alfred to follow.

The two continued into the house, briefly searching each room on the first floor but it soon became clear that the house was empty.

The sounds of their footsteps echoed against the unusual silence as the two stopped searching, Arthur looked up to Alfred who had a concerned look on his face and sent him a brief smile. “It doesn’t seem like your parents are home,” he stated “But let's not jump to any conclusions, maybe they left to go and see you? We didn’t tell them we were coming here.”

Alfred shook his head.

“They would’ve called, my mom never just shows up,” he mentioned, his voice beginning to waver a little much to Arthur’s attention. “Something's not right Artie.”

Arthur paused, almost agreeing with Alfred’s words but not wanting to admit the possibility just yet. “We...haven’t checked upstairs yet, let’s check up there before we make any rash decisions,” He walked over to Alfred to put his luggage on a nearby table before grabbing his friend's wrist, the both of them started to walk towards the stairs. “I’m sure everything's fine, as you said this will all blow over in a couple days.”

“If you say so,” Alfred said with a sigh, giving a slightly forced smile at Arthur. He was probably right after all, they were probably just upstairs; distracted. Nothing bad would happen to them right? Alfred didn’t think he could even fathom the possibility.

He wondered if he should take Arthur by the hand but quickly shook the thought out of his head. Arthur followed him as they walked up the steep stairs, not caring that they were slightly dirtying the cream carpet beneath them.

Abruptly a slight grumble from one of the rooms startled them both.

A moment of silence passed and Arthur turned to face Alfred, “Somebody must be in the house.” He spoke quietly, suddenly feeling worried for the safety of his friend’s parents.

A sudden sound of glass shattering broke out from the room adjacent to them making the two falter in their movements, they froze in their steps and waiting until the silence returned. Stumbling footsteps could now occasionally be heard from inside the room.

“Shit...that doesn’t sound good,” Alfred whispered, a little panicky. “I think my dad has a gun in the nightstand, it’s just in the doorway,” He took a deep breath. “But of course that’s in there.”

He glanced at Arthur and he nodded reassuringly. Alfred could feel the adrenaline pumping through his vein - this was terrifying. Arthur followed him as he made his way to the source of the strange noises.

Slowly, he opened the door. As soon as it swung open, he made a dash for the gun in the first drawer of the nightstand. He wondered if Arthur could hear his breathing wavering as loudly as he could. By the look on his face, he sure could. He almost didn’t want to look what was making the sounds but he knew he had to, he gazed at the gun in his hands and looked over to Arthur one last time.

When he saw the horrified expression on his friend’s face, he felt his own blood run cold. After hearing another almost human-like noise, he turned around whilst clutching the gun tightly. The sweat gathering on his palms was making it hard for his grip to remain firm.  

Then he finally noticed what Arthur was onlooking. Had he not seen it with his own eyes, he wouldn’t have believed it. There was no way.

“Mom…?” Alfred uttered, feeling his voice crack in his throat. He was finding it hard to stop his hands from shaking out of nervousness. Hesitantly, he took a couple steps forward into the room and towards the mop of blonde hair at the other end of the room that seemed to respond to Alfred’s voice.

“Alfred-” Arthur said in a hushed whisper, not wanting him to go any further. However, he was only brushed off and ignored.

Alfred swallowed roughly as the woman slowly turned. Her skin was pale with a slight grey tint. Dried blood painted patches of her hair and between the rips in her clothing. Although her dark blue eyes were as dead as he’d ever seen them, there was no mistaking it. She was definitely Alfred’s mother.

Stumbling forwards with twisted steps like an infant, garbled noises escaped the woman’s mouth as frothy clumps of salvia escaped her lips, running down her chin in a revolting manner mixing with congealed blood and sweat from a previous wound. Arthur was sure he was on the edge of being sick.

“You can’t go any closer...” he murmured, fearing for his friend’s safety with eyes wide in shock as the woman slowly approached Alfred.

“It’s my mom,” Alfred rasped in reply. He jumped when he heard the clatter of something metal hit the floor. What was that? His eyes moved down to see what had made the noise. A pair of hair-clips. He couldn’t help but feel like he recognised them. Were they his mom’s?

Looking back up, he realised that the woman’s nonsensical mumbling had alerted another presence in the room. Only then had Alfred become aware of the shuffling from the man half hanging out the broken window, indents of glass pieces up the entire length of his wiry arms. It looked painful.

Arthur inhaled sharply at the sight that was before them, what appeared to be the mangled breathing corpse of Alfred’s father was gruesomely hanging out the window. Shards of glass penetrating his body were preventing the man from leaving the broken frame in his current state and drying blood continued to cascade down the clear glass making Arthur feel nauseated at the sight.

“Oh god-” he looked up swiftly to see the Alfred’s gaze fixated on the same scene, his face showing that he was feeling every bit as sick as Arthur, perhaps even more so. “Don’t stare at him too long, we can’t let...her, touch us. She might be dangerous.”

As if the words were some kind of curse, the woman stumbled towards Alfred, her hands reaching out for his face. He became frozen, unsure of what to do as her bony fingers twitched in his direction. It was absolutely disgusting, he could feel the bile build up in his throat. To think this is what became of the precious woman who gave birth to him.

“Alfred!” Arthur had begun to panic, walking inside steadily and grabbing Alfred by the shoulder to jerk him away from the woman’s approaching touch. She groaned helplessly at him.

Silence fell after a thud on the ground.

Arthur had winced at the painfully loud sound of gunfire and then his eyes widened and the sight of the woman who had crashed to the ground. Blood poured like gushing waves out of the unsightly bullet wound in her head; leaving puddles in its wake. Her mouth still remained agape, her last breath escaping her, but no more signs of life were left. She didn’t so much as fidget.

His eyes trailed up to see Alfred with his hands trembling around the trigger of the smoking gun. He panted heavily, tears pricking at the corners of his eyes; threatening to fall.

When the man hanging from the window turned, there was another shot fired. The body now going limp over the broken glass. The gun slipped from Alfred’s hands, plummeting to the ground dangerously close to the blood puddle seeping through the wooden floorboards.

“Arthur…” Alfred muttered hoarsely. It was rare he’d use his actual name, it had to be serious. Although noticing at the decaying bodies - which gave off a putrid aroma - it was no surprise. Arthur turned to him; wanting to offer sympathy. “I think I’m gonna throw up,”

Arthur nodded and stumbled forwards from where he had been standing desperately, grabbing a loose plastic bag that was nearby and quickly passing it to Alfred who was now kneeling against the floor; he could feel his own stomach churn at the sight but knew he would be able to hold it in.

“Don’t hold it back, you will only feel worse,” he spoke in a feigned but relaxed tone of voice and bent down beside Alfred, unsure of how to act in the situation.

He sure couldn’t hold it back regardless. He vomited in copious amounts, it scratched at his throat until it felt raw. Anything he’d eaten that day had been left forgotten. As if the smell of rotten bodies wasn’t enough, the puke was enough to induce a further nauseating feeling. Sweat gathered on his forehead.

“Water…” he whispered almost pleadingly, turning gradually to make eye contact with Arthur.  

“I’ll go downstairs and get some for you, just stay here for a moment.” Arthur instructed politely, glancing back at Alfred one last time before rapidly making his way downstairs to the large living room where he had left his belongings. After rummaging through the bag for a few moments, he soon came across a small water bottle that would do the job and turned back, heading towards the stairs once more but hesitating as something caught his eye.

The soft slight of the afternoon sun shone into the kitchen and illuminated the white surfaces, but outside the closed window a group of people could be seen slowly approaching the house. It was almost as if something was drawing them in.

Arthur paused and walked closer to inspect the sight. There was something strange about it. As he did, the figures could be identified more clearly whilst they staggered across the street; their bruised arms hung limply in front of them and their skin was ashen. Several of the group had large, blotchy patches of deep red against their clothing and it dripped against the concrete with their every step.

“Shit...” Arthur cursed under his breath, unconsciously tightening his grip on the water bottle before quickly turning around and rushing back up the stairs. Once he returned to the room, Alfred was still on his knees but thankfully seemed to less pale than before he went downstairs.

He knelt down beside him and unscrewed the bottle cap, passing it to Alfred before speaking softly, “There are some odd people approaching outside, they look dangerous, so we need to leave here as soon as we can.”

Alfred listened to him as he downed a good portion of the water bottle, the cool liquid easing the harsh burn in his throat from the profuse vomiting. He gasped for air and coughed. It took him a while to register what Arthur had said, not wanting to look away from the dead shells of his parents even though that was what had induced the nausea in the first place.

“No…” he spoke up, a certain roughness to his voice. He lifted his glasses from the bridge of his nose to reach his hand under and wipe at his eyes. The crippling realisation of his own destruction was building up in his chest, making his body feel heavy and his breath weak. Slowly, took another sip from the water bottle. “We can’t leave them, we can’t…”

“Alfred...” he furrowed his brows in worry, looking into his friends eyes and leaning forwards to wipe a stray tear from his cheek. It seemed cruel to make him leave so suddenly after such a traumatic incident, but there wasn’t another option. “We can’t stay here, your parents wouldn’t want you to stay here and die because of this, we have to leave.”

Arthur hesitated for a moment, glancing over to the corpses of his friend’s family momentarily before looking back. The sight of it was too harrowing to bear and made the nausea return to his stomach. “We’ll come back later, I promise. We will not just leave them here.”

After he took a deep breath, Alfred sniffled. He nodded, somewhat understanding that it wasn’t healthy for him to still be there and whatever danger Arthur had encountered, it had to be serious.

“Okay…” he said softly, grabbing the gun from the floor and pushing himself up so he rose to his feet. His eyes lingered over the weapon before he looked at his friend. “Where...are we gonna go?”

“I’m not sure, But we just need to get out of here, we can think of that once we get there.” He sighed, hopefully they would be able to return to their apartment once more if everything went well.

Alfred nodded silently and waited for Arthur to stand up, staring at the floorboards as he did so and seemingly avoiding eye contact. Taking notice of this, Arthur quickly stood up and encouraged Alfred to leave; sending him a reassuring smile as they walked forwards.

Hopefully things would go to plan from here on out.


	3. On the Road

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alfred and Arthur encounter some strange creatures on their drive home. Where else can they go?

The car ride seemed to last an eternity. Alfred shuffled anxiously in the passenger seat, trying to steady his breathing and calm down. He couldn’t seem to cease the nausea in his stomach and perhaps the movement of the car wasn’t helping at all. He had no other choice but to just put up with it.

Arthur seemed mildly unphased by the current events, his eyebrows furrowed and eyes locked onto the road; hands on the steering wheel. Alfred often wondered what he was thinking. Most of the time reading his friend’s mind was no big deal - they had been friends since they were small children after all. In this situation, he just couldn’t seem to read him. He couldn’t work out if Arthur was being a closed book or he just couldn’t seem to concentrate due to the haziness of his mind. It was most likely the latter.

Green eyes momentarily glanced over to Alfred as the other stared in their direction, Arthur’s gaze lingered for a fleeting moment before focusing back to the road. It was clear to see that Alfred was uncomfortable and he wished there was some way he could make the situation better; but there didn’t seem to be much either of them could do right now.

As the two continued to drive down the unusually empty streets there was no sign of other humans or anything alike, the emptiness was unsettling to the both of them and neither wanted to focus on the surroundings for much longer.

“We’ll go back to the apartment first to get some more supplies, how much did you bring in your bag?” Arthur questioned, disturbing the silence.

“Basics for a couple days…” he answered shakily and looked down, there was no way he could’ve known about this predicament. “But food didn’t seem like it’d be an issue at the time,”

“I didn’t bring much food either,” Arthur sighed, starting to feel more apprehensive about the whole situation; it seemed this was going to be a bigger problem than they had expected. There wasn't enough food in their apartment to sustain either of them for more than a few days either.

Right now, getting home was the most important thing. Alfred was starting to regret ever leaving the house, in hindsight had he taken Arthur’s initial advice, maybe they would’ve been better off. Although it was likely that it wouldn’t have changed his parent’s outcome despite that.

“At least we have your prescription though right? I mean...even if we encounter a problem I’m sure we can get food somehow. Your medicine is something we won’t just come by…” Alfred said, words trailing off a little towards the end.

“I should be ok for while now, so we don’t have to worry about it.” Arthur reassured, having only gotten a new prescription recently he hoped that it wouldn’t cause a problem any time soon. Although, he almost doubted his own words. But it was quickly decided that it would not be mentioned unless an issue arose.

As the two continued to drive Arthur glanced out of the window, noting that they weren’t too far from their apartment he decided to drive a little slower than usual. The streets were still empty and appeared the same as they always had, but an anxious feeling was building up in his stomach as they continued making him feel uneasy.

Arthur hesitated before glancing over to Alfred, pausing for a moment before speaking. “I think we should try a different route, maybe it isn’t a good idea to stay on the main roads like this.”

Alfred pulled a face.

“Well can we at least roll down the windows? I want the fresh air, I feel sick.” he suggested, looking out of the window on his side at the barren streets.

“I suppose so. But if you’re going to be sick tell me so I can pull over,” Arthur grimaced, the thought of vomit stained seats was enough to replace the uneasy feeling in his stomach with revulsion.

He watched as Arthur rolled down his windows, feeling the cold air rush inside and cool his face. Alfred took a deep breath and leaned his head outside despite his better judgment.

“Hey...Artie...we don’t have a forest here right?” he suddenly questioned.

“What? No of course there isn’t?”

“Then what’s that?”

Alfred pointed out of the window at the shuffling mass in the distance. He couldn’t tell what it was he was looking at, but when he squinted, it did seem to resemble trees.

Arthur stared, leaning forwards against the steering wheel to see what his friend was looking at. There was definitely something in the far distance but it was too far away to tell what it was. “I don’t think those are trees Alfred, trees don’t move,” he stated. Alfred blinked a little quicker.

“Sure they do, you know...with the wind,” he attempted to reason, furrowing his eyebrows.

Arthur sent his friend a look of disbelief before glancing towards the strange mass in the distance once more. Becoming frustrated with the lack of clarity, Arthur pushed his foot against the gas pedal and revved the vehicle; making the car jolt forwards before speeding towards the mass.

Alfred jumped at the sudden increase in speed. He noticed the man beside him grow more frustrated - road rage had always been a problem of Arthur’s and quite frankly Alfred was sometimes nervous to get in the car with him.

“It’s not trees... It can’t be.” Arthur muttered, still trying to figure out what the object was as they drew closer.

As they hurtled towards the thing in question, the large object drew closer and closer with the speed. Suddenly the shadowed figures starts to reveal themselves, showing not to be trees but in fact, people?

It was strange considering most people had left the scene due to the television broadcast. Until suddenly they realised that they were not just regular people. Blood stained their clothing and wounds grazed their skin from head to toe. Some were even missing limbs. The sight was revolting and not doing anything to aid Alfred’s nausea. Their skin was a strange colour, it resembled that of the state his parents had been in when they had first walked into the house. There was no way, was there?

The car screeched to a halt as they drew closer to the mass of figures, Arthur stared forwards in shock for a brief moment before hurriedly glancing over to Alfred. He had expected that there were more beings like this, but the sheer number of them - he counted at least 12 - now left the two men astounded; could something like this really happen in such a short amount of time?

“I can’t believe this...” Arthur gaped, feeling his stomach flip as the nauseating stench of rotting flesh started to waft over to them.

“What should we do?” Alfred uttered, running his hand over his stomach to as if it would ease the sickness. He looked over to meet Arthur’s gaze, becoming slightly more uneasy at the sight of his worried, panicked face.

Arthur briefly considered the possibility of running over the putrid beings and felt his fingers twitch against this steering wheel; eager to press his foot down onto the gas. Due to the town being fairly small this was the only route to their apartment and without it, they wouldn’t be able to go back home.

“Why don’t we just... run them over with the car,” he suggested. Although the idea of killing these ‘people’ made him feel slightly guilty, it was obvious that they were in a state far past saving. Alfred’s eyes widened.

“Artie you can’t just-” the words fell from his lips before he took a deep breath. “Let’s just turn around okay? I just...let’s just go,”

Alfred wasn’t sure he could take anymore blood spill. A single day of this had him knowing his stomach would be churning for the rest of his life. Hopefully it was just a dream, he’d wake up and he’d be just dreaming. There was no way. Pinch me Arthur I must be dreaming he thought.

“If you run them over I think I might actually vomit all over your windscreen,” he quickly followed up. He spared another glance at his friend. “And you don’t want that.”

“Like I would let that happen,” Arthur smirked a little. Now that he thought on it, it seemed like there were more sensible ways around the situation. Either that or the idea of Alfred’s vomit was enough to change his mind; he expected it was the latter.

So putting the car into reverse and pulling the car backwards, a final glance was taken into the rearview mirror before Arthur finally pushed down onto the accelerator. Leaving the strange beings alone as the buildings quickly rushed past them, the two had now decided to evacuate the area as soon as possible and find shelter somewhere else.

After all, they could always return to their apartment later on.

They scanned the area, driving seemingly in circles in order to look for somewhere they could stop. Everything seemed to be shut down. It had to be due to the news report.

“Hey slow down, what about that building over there? It use to be the old hospital right? There won’t be anything there.” Alfred suggested, although could feel the anxiety in his veins.

The car came to a halt and Arthur turned to see what Alfred had been talking about, he squinted slightly and instantly felt nostalgia at the sight of the familiar building. It was one they often saw, but seemed to overlook due to the familiarity of its placement.

The hospital had been closed for a good fifteen years now, only due to the newer development. The building had been left seemingly abandoned ever since. He was never too good with these sorts of situations - horror films scared him to death. It was a death wish but they were running out of choices.

“I recognise this place...” Arthur muttered, flashes of childhood days spent in the white hospital rooms with his mother were heavily imprinted into his mind. “That doesn’t seem like a bad idea. Even if we can’t find anything here at least it’s safe,” Arthur agreed, soon turning the car towards the hospital and approaching it slowly; making sure to glance around the area before parking outside of the steel entrance. The gates were firmly shut and it seemed they would have to walk from here on out.

"I suppose this is it," Arthur muttered and glanced towards the gate from his place in the car; curious eyes scanned the area for a few moments before he spoke.

"We should be able to climb in over there," he gestured towards a small tree conveniently placed beside the fencing, "Then we don't have to worry about breaking down the gate."

Alfred nodded, also looking at their path ahead.

“I haven’t climbed a tree in years,” he reminisced, gazing up at the branches. He hadn’t exactly been allowed to climb trees since he had _accidentally_ pushed his brother out of one and he had broken his leg. Speaking of the twin, Alfred made a mental note to call him and see if he was okay. He had moved to Canada for his studies a couple years ago while he stayed in the United States.

“I can’t say I have either,” Arthur replied, he hadn’t been one to climb trees or anything alike as a child and hadn’t changed much since. Most of that had been left to Alfred; who had been the usual participator to come home scattered with cuts and bruises from his latest ‘exploration’.

He smiled lightly at the memory as he stepped out of the vehicle, waiting for Alfred to do the same, but not forgetting to grab his belongings from the backseat before he closed the door. There wasn’t much else of importance in the car.

The two walked towards the tree, gazing up at it somewhat expectantly. The sun was beginning to set in the distance leaving the area with a somewhat frightening atmosphere. The soft wind howling did nothing to aid that.

“Hey Artie, you wanna go first?” Alfred questioned with a slight waver in his voice. He could never tell Arthur that he was spooked, who wouldn’t be? Regardless, he was sure they had been best friends long enough for Arthur to know and not be told that these sorts of situations freaked him out. At least the nausea was starting to fade, though only to be replaced by fear and anxiety.

“I suppose I can, if you’re too scared to go first,” Arthur teased; glancing up towards the tree. Although it was fairly small, the lowest branches were nearly out of arm's reach for the two of them and the trunk was fairly steep. “Give me a lift up,” he instructed, reaching up towards the branches and gripping onto the bark. It seemed strong, and hopefully wouldn’t break under the weight of either of them

“I’m not scared,” Alfred protested with a huff. He helped Arthur climb the tree before following up himself. Eventually, they made it to the doors of the hospital.

The impressive 4 story building now loomed above the two as they stood and casted on the ground around them with a dark shadow. The windows were caked with filth and brightly coloured graffiti scattered the walls. But despite it’s height, the building was still relatively small for a hospital; Arthur remembered this being one of the main reasons it had been relocated in the first place.

“We’ll just have to search the building and see if there’s anywhere safe we can stay,” Arthur suggested, walking forwards and opening one of the glass doors in front of them. It was rusted and difficult to open, Alfred nodded confidently.

Once the door was open they slowly stepped inside. The darkness surrounded them; engulfing them in black and the light from outdoors shone through to the room, making the insides just about visible. It became obvious this place was abandoned. Although most of it barren, some structures remained in place.

Nervously, Alfred stood behind his friend, gently resting his hands on his shoulders and almost cowering behind him. He had seen too many horror games for this to be real.

“Do we have a flashlight?” he asked suddenly.

Arthur shook his head but quickly withdrew his phone from his pocket, turning it on and activating the flashlight which illuminated their surroundings. “This should do for a little while, although I’m not too sure how long it will last,” he glanced at the remaining battery life and was disappointed to see it standing at a saddening 37%.

Feeling a sudden pang of confidence, Alfred took a couple heavy footsteps. The sound echoed against the quietness in the room (excuse for their voices.) He studied the area, now able to see with the light of Arthur's phone. He assured himself that there was nothing to be afraid of as he noticed things around the room, from the slight dampness seeping in through the walls and the dusty-looking reception desk to the right.

He was so caught up in looking around that he was only snapped out of his daze when he had banged his knee against something hard, causing him to shriek.

"Artieeeeee!" he yelled, stumbling back towards his friend.

"Alfred it's just the reception desk," Arthur responded flatly, gesturing where the other man had laid his eyes not that long ago. "And maybe we should keep it down."

"Oh."

“Just stay by me so you can see where you’re going,” Arthur sighed, the last thing he needed was for Alfred to hurt himself falling over a piece of furniture; as he often seemed to do.

The two continued to search the area before they came up to a narrow flight of stairs, Arthur shined the small light onto a decrepit sign board placed adjacently to read the map. It seemed these stairs lead to the first floor of the hospital (and despite Alfred seemed reluctant to enter the dark corridor) soon the two had scaled the stairs.

A window placed next to the staircase made the hallway significantly lighter and Arthur turned off the torch, streams of dust could be seen in the light and the older male resisted the urge to sneeze. “This seems like a good place to stay,” Arthur noted, glancing across the hallway. Floor D seemed to have been the ward for ‘surgical assessment’ and because of this many rooms with empty bed frames were scattered across the corridors.

“I guess we should spend the night,” Alfred said with a sigh, still slightly wary of his surroundings. He soon sat himself down on the cold floor, Arthur following. “It’s going to be a long night.”  
Arthur nodded.


End file.
